I have to admit that it feels weird to read James Scott Bell’s How to Write Pulp Fiction back to back to Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft.
And yet, I could easily say the two books complement each other – Le Guin’s a blueprint for a writers’ workshop (even a solo writer’s workshop, if so the reader wishes), while How to Write Pulp Fiction, that’s full of suggestions and straightforward advice, appears to be more of a guide to a mindset.
Both books are excellent, and having written a post about Le Guin’s, let me now praise James Scott Ball’s handbook. Continue reading →